Tuesday, September 11. 2018

Formed in 1981 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward, Bananarama was one of the acts associated with the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the early/mid 1980s. Their first single was "Cruel Summer," with an accompanying music video shot in New York City during the summer of '83.

According to Fahey, the video was an "excuse to get [them] to the fabled city of New York for the first time," and so much of the video was spent making the most of their time there. Several shots of the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State Building, and other landmarks are shown throughout the video, including bookends of the overall skyline showing the towers centered behind the group.

Friday, July 20. 2018

When I was still a wee tyke in the mid-1980s, our school library was a single large-ish room divided into two sections: the little kid area with the braided rug on the floor and colorful posters on the walls at one end, and the young adult area with its wooden tables surrounded by monolithic shelves of books at the other. Even then my preferences for entertainment were wide and varied, so while I stayed on "my side" of the card catalogue I still kept an eye on the goings-on happening over there with the "big kid" books and would occasionally sneak one into my reading. One that particularly caught my eye was Interstellar Pig, just released in paperback with its fantastic cover art:

The story itself didn't disappoint, and re-reading it in preparation for this build, I was happy to see that it held up after 30+ years.

Friday, June 22. 2018

I've had a sort of unofficial goal to build one of Revell's second-gen Charger kits at least once a year. That hit a bit of a snag with my current "1984" theme, seeing as there really weren't any famous Chargers in movies or on TV that year (at least, none that weren't holdovers from previous seasons). There was one that had a cameo in a B-movie I first saw on TV way back and still enjoy, though: The Philadelphia Experiment. I've built cars with even less screen time, so I called the idea good and used it as a place to flex some creativity.

Friday, June 1. 2018

A few years ago, I posted a poll to decide my next build based on the idea of "Hollywood Beaters." The winner of that poll was the Joe Dirt Charger, but runner up was Axel's Chevy Nova from Beverly Hills Cop. Since I already had the kit ready to go, including it with my current 1984-themed build list was a no-brainer.

Monday, May 28. 2018

Friday, May 18. 2018

Profile: A student of entomology, Ladybug came to Earth and began a study of the Insecticon infestation on that world and their effects on its natural resources. She is bright, full of ideas, and deeply contemplative. She is also very serious-minded, and tends to become irritated easily, particularly with some of the more light-hearted Autobots who don't take their work as seriously as she does. Hers is an all-consuming passion, and she typically devotes every fiber of her being towards focusing on whatever her current project might be. Unfortunately, sometimes she's so intent on focusing on the details of her work that she completely misses the big picture. On more than one occasion, she's been so busy analyzing the blast marks present at an attack site that she's remained oblivious to a new wave of approaching Decepticons before it was almost too late.

Abilities: Ladybug is graced with remarkably good fortune. While she remains at a loss to offer a scientific explanation for this phenomenon, the fact remains that she has demonstrated on countless occasions a propensity for good fortune that far outweighs statistical odds. She has come to believe that serendipity is one of the primary contributors to the survival of the Autobot race. In robot mode, the lenses in her optic sensors can extend to conduct a microscopic analysis. They have a magnification capability of up to 14,000 times.

Weaknesses: Ladybug has an unusually poor resistance to cold temperatures. Such conditions have been known to cause damage to her circuitry, or in extreme conditions, can leave her incapacitated and inoperative.

Text and images created by David "Zobovor" Edwards,used here with permission.

Friday, May 4. 2018

Huffer remains one of the few original figures I have from the original series that managed to survive to this day without requiring repairs. Considering the hours he spent hauling trailers around Hot Wheels City—in addition to fighting the Decepticons—that's no small feat.

Tuesday, May 1. 2018

It doesn't seem possible that it's been a decade since the ten-year anniversary of the site, but sure enough! I've posted a lot less here thanks to other outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Thank you to everyone who has visited, sent me an e-mail, joined an online discussion, or shared something over the years!

Friday, April 20. 2018

This year's main theme for the NNL East is "The 59th Anniversary of 1959." Which, for a pop culture car builder, especially one who's trying to focus on properties from 1984, is an easy one: Ghostbusters' Ecto-1. Except I made myself a rule to never bring the same model to the same show more than once, and the Ectomobile already accompanied me to the show in 2015 for their "Professional Cars" theme. There was another option I knew of that fit the bill, but with no kit and a little over a month to get it done, I wasn't sure if it could work. Cue some A-Team build music, put in some long days (and a lot of luck), and I was actually able to get the Paris, Texas Ranchero finished in time for the show.

Friday, February 23. 2018

So, it turns out the one downside to my idea for a "tribute year" is that work goes much slower than my usual free-for-all. With essentially no snap-tite or easily modified diecasts to help fill in the gaps, I have to rely on my not-very-reliable build pace. Still, I got a second one done with the ugly but potent Chevy Nova from the Stephen King Richard Bachman novel Thinner.

Friday, February 2. 2018

I'm doing something a little different this year. With the 20th anniversary of the site coming up in May, I thought it would be fun to do a whole near of only models related to the titular year 1984, and am kicking things off with the ultimate nostalgia tribute (and specifically to '84 in season 2): Stranger Things.

Thursday, February 1. 2018

NEW YORK – February 1, 2018 – IAmElemental, creators of the first female action figures designed specifically for children, will reveal the company’s new Series 2/Wisdom Warrior Core Power action figure at Booth #5207 at the North American International Toy Fair on February 17-20, 2018.

IAmElemental’s strong, healthy female action figures invite girls and boys to develop their character by playing with “The Elements of Power.” The company’s Series 1/Courage figures, modeled on Joan of Arc, were launched on Kickstarter to worldwide acclaim in 2014. Series 2/Wisdom followed in 2016, with ancient Alexandrian STEM pioneer Hypatia as the muse. Each series culminates in the release of a 6.5” Core Power figure, which is a fusion of all Elements in the series.

According to IAmElemental’s Chief Elemental Officer, Julie Kerwin, “Our Series 2/Wisdom Warrior Core Power Figure represents seven Superpowers that reside inside us all: Creativity, Ingenuity, Curiosity, Logic, Exploration, Mastery and Oblivion. Kids and collectors alike are sure to appreciate this fierce Wisdom Warrior. Her translucent bow, shaped like a sliver of the moon, references both Artemis, the mythic huntress, as well as Creativity's power to hunt down new ideas. Her armor and cape combination derive from both Logic and Mastery. And her hair’s intricate yet battle-ready style -- a nod to Hypatia’s Egyptian birthplace -- continues our theme of power as action.”

The Wisdom Warrior Core Power Figure features more than 30 points of articulation and includes removable accessories including a helmet, armor, powerful bow and arrow, and Wisdom shield. The figure will retail for $24.99.

IAmElemental was named a 2017 Toy of the Year finalist by the Toy Industry Association in the Rookie of the Year and Action Figure of the Year categories for its Series 1/Courage figures. Its Series 2/Wisdom figures are finalists for 2018 Toy of the Year in the Action Figure category. In November 2017, the company announced a partnership with The Jim Henson Company to develop a new animated children’s television series based on its popular female action figures.

Monday, January 1. 2018

Friday, December 29. 2017

In my ongoing quest to see how many times I can build a pop culture-based second-gen Charger, I like to try different ideas just to see what I can do. This time around I wanted to see if I could add some lighting effects while maintaining a full-detail build. Turns out I can, but it took me so long that the Agents of SHIELD Hell Charger very nearly became my first build of 2018 instead of the last of the 2017s!

Friday, December 22. 2017

Normally my models are all-ages friendly. I may have a few that don't make it to the site, but those are pretty rare and easy to call. The '67 Camaro from Blood Drive fell into a bit of a gray area, though. The car itself was perfectly fine for all audiences, but its engine bay was a bit more visceral than what usually shows up in car models.